AN: As always, I'm sorry it's taken so long to update. And super thankful for anyone who might still be reading. I was suddenly struck with inspiration yesterday and since then I've had the best writing days! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and with any luck, the next one will be on the way shortly. I've already got it entirely planned out, so that's helpful at least!
Love you all!
Harry stepped out of the fireplace and immediately dropped face first onto the couch in the living room of the manor. "I've missed your house so much," he mumbled into the cushion.
Snape, stepping out behind him, merely raised an eyebrow at the teenager before saying, "It's our house, and we've only been gone a week."
"It was a long week," Harry said as he rolled over and held his hand out to pet Rook, who stood beside the couch, wagging his tail excitedly.
"I can't believe she said yes to keeping that dog."
Harry grinned. "Of course she did. You didn't actually believe she would say no?"
"I thought she'd know better than to spoil you this much." Snape pointed his wand to his luggage and it disappeared with a pop. "Please take your stuff upstairs and unpack."
Harry glared at him as he sat up. "You could send mine up, too, you know?"
"I could but that would bring me no enjoyment whatsoever," Snape replied in his usual slow drawl before sitting down in his armchair. The moment he did so, several letters appeared on the table beside him. "Go on, Harry. Get unpacked."
Harry rolled his eyes and stood up. He reached for the suitcase and backpack that was left beside the fireplace, tugging it dramatically as if it were suddenly too heavy to carry. When Snape paid him no mind, however, he simply picked them both up and called for Rook to follow him upstairs.
"Harry," Snape said just before Harry left the room.
Harry turned back to see a letter floating towards him. He snatched it out of the air and said, "Thanks."
"Hurry up," Snape said opening a letter of his own. "Lunch will be ready soon."
Harry quickly went upstairs and deposited his luggage on the bed before sitting down in the overstuffed chair to open the letter. He noticed immediately from the handwriting that it was from Draco.
"Potter,
Sorry it took so long to write. It's been a busy summer so far, and I had to smuggle this letter out inside one for Astoria Greengrass.
Don't write back. And don't tell Uncle Severus. I can't explain anything right now, but my father is going on a trip this Friday and won't be back until Monday, so if you can, floo call me Friday night after Uncle Severus goes to sleep.
I'll try to explain everything then.
Draco.
P.S. The Phoenix is gone.
Harry was certain that he felt his heart stop beating in his chest. Snape had said that the only way the phoenix bracelet could come off was if Draco took it off himself. But why would he do that? His first instinct was to go straight to Snape and tell him what the letter said, but Draco had asked him not to.
Today was Thursday, only one day until Draco wanted him to call. Harry knew from experience that a lot could happen in one day, but what if Harry told Snape and something happened to Draco because of it.
Harry looked from the letter to Rook who was walking around his bedroom, sniffing everything he came to. "What do you think?" he asked the dog. As expected, Rook didn't answer.
He took his time unpacking while he tried to figure out what to do. This definitely seemed like the kind of think Snape would murder him for keeping to himself. But also, a sneaky part of Harry's brain offered, what if by some chance, Draco had just taken the bracelet off on his own and there really was no problem at all? What if Draco was being his usual dramatic self?
Logically, Harry knew that likely wasn't the case, but Snape was the one who said only Draco could take it off. And wouldn't it be better if Harry had all the facts before he brought Snape in? Just in case it wasn't anything to worry about after all? Harry thought he probably owed it to Draco to get all the facts first, and with that settled, he finished unpacking and went downstairs.
"You should let the dog out for a bit while we eat," Snape said as he came into the kitchen. "I'm sure he'd like to explore."
"Okay," Harry agreed. He patted his thigh to get Rook's attention before leading him outside. When he came back he asked, "What if he wanders off out there?"
"I've already placed a ward around the property. He can't go past it."
Harry smiled before taking his seat. "Thanks."
Snape tapped the table and as usual, their food appeared. Two plates of turkey sandwiches, and cucumber chips.
Harry eyed the plate with a frown. "Cucumbers?"
Snape glanced over at him. "You like cucumbers."
"Yeah, I do, but why not crisps? I like those more."
"You've had nothing but junk food all weekend," Snape said, shaking his head before picking up his sandwich. "It would do you well to have something healthy for once."
"But—" At Snape's unimpressed look, Harry cut off his argument and popped a cucumber slice into his mouth.
"That's what I thought. What did Draco have to say?"
"What?" Harry asked quickly.
"The letter?" Snape explained. "What did Draco's letter say?"
"Oh, right." Harry took another bite of his sandwich and averted his gaze to his plate as he chewed. When he finished, he said, "You were right. Mr. Malfoy hasn't been letting him send us letters. He smuggled it out in one for Astoria."
"I thought so." Snape shook his head. "I really feel like he will let Draco come stay as usual though. He won't want questions about why Draco's not allowed around."
Harry nodded. "When? Soon?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe in August."
"But August is weeks away," Harry said. "A lot could happen between now and then."
"Harry, we've been over this. We would know if something happens?"
"I know, but just say—"
"No," Snape said sternly, "Harry, you're forgetting that Draco is also with Narcissa. She's not going to let anything happen to Draco."
"What if you're wrong?" Harry asked, worry coating his voice.
"I'm doing my best to make sure that I'm not. You can trust me."
Harry wanted to believe Snape, he really did, but he couldn't help the feeling of doubt that crept into his mind whenever he thought about Draco. It was strange to think that this time last year, his life was so different. He didn't have Snape or anyone really besides Hermione and the Weasley's. But now, it seemed as if he had someone in every area of his life. And one of those people turned out to be Draco Malfoy. Even still, they were hardly what anyone would call close, but Harry certainly felt like they were friends now, and he didn't want to think about anything happening to him. He wanted to find a way to help him, but he needed to see what he said on Friday. Harry could wait that long. He was sure of it.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before he nodded. "I do," he said. "I trust you."
"Good," Snape said before taking a sip of his water. "Now, what have you got planned for today?"
"I could write a letter to Ron? We talked about him getting to come visit this summer, remember?"
"I think that will be fine. But after you get it written, I want to see your list of summer assignments."
Harry's head snapped up before he groaned. "Aw, Dad, there's loads of time before school starts back."
"Do not start that whining again, young man. Surely you didn't expect that I would let you put them off til the end of summer. I don't recall that being the case last year."
"No, but last year was different. I thought you made me do them so early then because you hated me."
"That most certainly was not the reason. And I didn't hate you. I just happen to think that it would serve you well to get them done and out of the way. As you said, there is a lot of time between now and the end of summer, and wouldn't you rather be done with them so that you can enjoy as much of it as you can?"
Harry wanted to argue. He wanted to point out that he could enjoy the same amount of time at the beginning instead of the end, but he didn't. Instead he thought about Ron and Draco coming to visit and having to do schoolwork while they were staying. He thought perhaps that that would be worse.
"Fine," Harry muttered, "I suppose that's alright."
Snape rolled his eyes before he vanished their empty plates. "Oh, I'm so glad you agree," he said sarcastically.
Harry spent the next hour writing letters to his friends. Then as he had promised, he brought down his books and assignment list for Snape to look over before he got to work on his History of Magic essay in the Library.
Rook settled himself beneath the table at Harry's feet and within a few minutes, the dog was sound asleep, snoring softly while Harry wrote sentence after sentence. Snape had said that once he was done, he could take his broom out for a while and he didn't want to waste any time by making homework take longer than it needed to.
The afternoon passed quickly though, and by the time that Harry finally sat down his quill and looked around, he was surprised to see the sun already fading behind the trees.
"Dad!" he yelled, pushing away from the table and crossing the library quickly in search of the older man.
Harry checked the living room and the kitchen, but found no site of Snape. He called for him again and still he heard no answer. Worry began to shoot through his chest as he climbed the steps to the second floor. But when he was just about to burst through Snape's bedroom door, he heard talking from the other side.
"Sev, you're being ridiculous. You haven't even considered it." Remus's voice sounded far off and Harry thought he must be talking through the floo.
"I don't need to consider it," Snape replied. "The answer is no."
"He's going to be hurt."
"I'm sure he'll get over it," Snape said and Harry could practically see him scowling at his brother.
"You really are an arse, Severus. It's his birthday."
"Don't act so surprised, Remus. And you're just trying to make up for all the birthdays that you missed while you were gone."
Harry held his breath, his ear pressed against the door as he waited to hear what came next.
"Whatever," Remus said. "I've got to go to St. Mungo's and I don't have time to argue with you. Harry would love to see the World Cup, though and it would be fun for him to get to go with the Weasley's."
Harry missed Snape's goodbye to Remus as he stepped away from the door. The World Cup? As in the Quidditch World Cup? Of course he would love to go, but Snape was saying no? But why? Had he done something? Was it supposed to be a birthday present and he wasn't getting it now? It sure sounded as if he wasn't. Snape didn't sound like he cared much about Harry's birthday at all, much less enough to allow him to go to the Weasley's to the World Cup.
Before Harry could think much more on it, he turned and quickly crossed the hall to his bedroom. Though no sooner had he shut the door behind him, than Snape called for him from the hallway.
Two quick knocks on his bedroom door before Snape stuck his head inside. "I thought I heard your door close," he said. "Did you finish your essay."
Harry nodded. He needed to stay calm. It could be that he misread the situation and maybe that's not what Snape had meant at all. The annoying voice in his head was back though, reminding him that the chances of that were slim. Snape had all but said that he didn't care that Harry would be hurt when he didn't get to go. It would be pretty hard to misunderstand that.
Harry leaned against the headboard of his bed and picked at a fraying thread on his shirt. "It's already dark out now though, so I guess I can't go flying."
Snape glanced toward the window and his eyes widened. "Merlin, I didn't realize it had gotten so late." He glanced down at the watch on his wrist. "I'm sorry, Harry. I got caught up in a conversation with Uncle Remus and didn't notice. But let's go have dinner and when we finish, I'll illuminate the back yard if you still want to fly."
Harry shook his head as he stood up. "That's okay. I'm not in the mood for quidditch now anyway."
Snape gave him a curious look as he passed him, but Harry didn't offer any other words as he went downstairs to eat. If Snape didn't care about him enough to let him go to the game, then maybe he didn't care about other stuff either.
It wasn't even as if Harry would have cared if he hadn't known it was an option. He would never have asked Snape to take him to a match that probably cost so much in the first place, but it sounded like maybe the Weasley's were going, and if they were, they had likely invited Harry to go along. But Harry supposed that didn't matter to Snape. He wasn't going no matter what.
Harry remained quiet through dinner, claiming that he was just tired and glad to be back from holiday. He wasn't sure that Snape believed him, but he didn't call him out on it either.
The next morning at breakfast, however, Harry had plenty to say.
"Can Ron come this weekend?"
Snape brought his coffee cup to his mouth and took a sip before nodding. "I suppose that's alright. I can ask Molly to be sure."
Harry nodded. "Do we have any other plans for the summer? Or are we going to stay here the whole time?"
"I thought we would stay here for the most part, but I assumed you would want to visit with the Weasley's at some point like last year. We'll be visiting the cottage for Thursday breakfasts, of course, but if there's something else you'd like to do, you should let me know soon so that we can plan it."
"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "I was just wondering. I'd like to see Sirius soon, though. I haven't gotten a chance to visit his new flat."
Snape sat quietly for a moment before he put his cup down and said, "I'm sure that can be arranged, provided Remus is willing to go with you."
"What do you mean? Why would I need someone to go with me?" Harry asked. This wasn't the direction he thought the conversation was going to go. He'd only wanted to pester Snape into telling him about the World Cup, not get a lecture about his godfather.
Snape sighed. "I didn't say you needed someone with you, just that I want someone with you. Sirius was locked away for twelve years in Azkaban, Harry. It was no doubt the worst years of his life, and it would be very hard to believe that one could simply walk away from that unscathed."
"I don't know what that has to do with me." Harry picked up his fork but he only pushed the scrambled eggs around on his plate.
"It doesn't— not really anyway. I just want you to be careful. Whether or not he would ever admit it, long term exposure to dementors can cause long term effects. I don't want to see you hurt."
Suddenly, Remus's words from the night before came flooding back. 'He's going to be hurt.' Snape hadn't seemed to care then, so why should he care now?
Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I'll be careful," he said before taking a bite of eggs and hoping it would put an end to the conversation.
That night, Harry lay in bed, waiting impatiently for Snape to fall asleep, then waited an extra twenty minutes just to be safe. When he was sure that he wasn't going to wake up and come storming into his bedroom, Harry climbed out of bed and pulled the over stuffed chair in front of the door.
He took the small amount of floo powder and tossed it into the flames before sticking his head in the hearth and quietly saying Draco's name.
"Harry?" Draco answered, his voice sounding rough with sleep. Harry wondered if he had fallen asleep beside his fireplace while he waited up for him.
"Draco," Harry said again. "Dad's asleep. What's going on? What happened to the bracelet?"
Draco shook his head. "My father has it," he said quietly. "I wasn't paying enough attention and he caught me with it when it was visible."
"But how could he have taken it from you? Dumbledore said—"
"I gave it to him," Draco admitted. He dropped his gaze to the red bricks of the hearth and Harry thought he saw a tear clinging to his lashes. He took a moment and really looked at Draco. He noticed that his platinum blonde hair looked greasy and hung in his face, his cheekbones seemed sunken and sharper than ever, and he seemed nervous; glancing over his shoulder as if waiting for someone to barge in.
"Draco, is he—"
"No," Draco said firmly. "He's not doing anything. He's ignoring me completely. Except for when he saw the bracelet, he's been pretending I don't exist. He's f— He's forcing my mother to as well. He knew what the bracelet was and he said that if I didn't give it to him, he would…"
Draco trailed off but Harry didn't need him to finish the sentence.
"It'll be alright," he assured him.
"I didn't want to get hurt," Draco said softly, not looking at Harry.
"You did the right thing." Harry moved to push up from the floor and said, "I'm going to—"
"No." Draco shook his head frantically. "You can't tell anyone. It wouldn't do any good. I'm not in any danger. I can handle being ignored, Potter."
Harry knew that Draco had meant the use of his last name as a way to cut him; lashing out in anger was Draco's preferred way of dealing with most things, but Harry wasn't going to let it bother him tonight. He grit his teeth.
"Alright, then," he said with a nod. "But I'm not going to let you stay there. If your father is ignoring you anyway, why should he care if you leave? Ron will be here tomorrow morning. Can you be outside with your trunk and broom after everyone is asleep?"
"What?" Draco asked. "Why?"
"Because we're coming to get you."
